Turbine water-wheel



(No Model.)

W. WADDELL.

TURBINE WATER WHEEL; No. 322,764. Patented July 21, 1885;

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM WADDELL, OF ORANGE, MASSACHUSETTS.

TURBINE WATER-WHEEL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 322,764, dated July21,1885.

' Application filed April 29, 1885. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM WADDELL, a subject of the Queen of GreatBritain, residing at Orange, in the county of Franklin and Commonwealthof Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in TurbineWater-\Vheels, of which the following is a true and full specification.

My invention relates to that class of waterwheels known as turbinewheels, and is calculated to reduce the friction of the water after ithas entered the wheel, and so to promote its greater efficiency.

It is often the case that it is desirable to use only a part of thewater which would come into the buckets through the ports, but to runthe wheel with only part of the water at half-gate, or quarter-gate, asitiscalled. This is done by raising the gate within the wheel to such aposition as to allow the proper flow of water to attain the desiredpower. \Vhen this is done with the turbine wheels in common use,however, the rush of water is so strong that when it pours in at thiscontracted opening it dashes up in the interior of the wheel and theinside of thegate, losing much of its intended force and retarding theaction of the wheel. Attempts to correct this by placing a finger orstop partially across the opening and by other means have not beensuccessful.

My invention is calculated to remedy this difiiculty and to give fullefficiency to all the water which enters the wheel when the gate is onlypartially raised. The construction of the wheel in the main is notchanged by my invention, and one important feature in it is that it can,without great expense, be added to a great number of the turbine wheelsin c0mmen use.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate my invention and form apart of this specification, Figure 1 is a sectional view showing thegate in elevation. Fig. 2 is a vertical central section of the turbinewheel. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken through the ports of thewheel. Fig. 4 is a plan or bottom view of the wheel and gate. Fig. 5 isa plan or horizontal section looking down- Ward.

A is the outside case of the turbine wheel; B, the ports through whichthe water enters and strikes the buckets O. D is the shaft on which thewheel turns, pivoted at the bottom in the usual way; E, the gate-rodswhich hold the gate G and by which it is raised or lowered in the usualway. H is the upper or true head of the wheel, and I is the false head.

When the water islet into the wheel at an open or full gate, it has afree and ready exit down after striking the buckets, because the portsadmitting the water are of the same size with the opening into thebuckets, and the water expending its force against the buckets has nocourse but down and out at the bottom. When, however, in ordinaryturbine wheels, the water is let in at, say,halfgatethat is, the gateraised half the perpendicular diameter of the port-it strikes againstthe side of the bucket with a vacant space above it just as large as theopening which admitted it. The consequence is that a large part of thewater, (perhaps half,) dashing up from the side of the bucket and comingback onto the stream flowing in-with what may be called a"backlash,greatly diminishes the force of the incoming stream. To prevent this Iplace upon the shaft D what I call a false head, I, which is held byfour bolts passing through the true or upper head into a flange, L,around the shaft D. This flange has a neck surrounding the shaft andpassing up through a spider, M, which is fastened to the upperedgeof thegate and extends across its diameter both are diaphragms of metal, K, soshaped. as to fill all the space between the buckets, between which theymove up or down as the gate to which this head is attached israised orlowered. These diaphragms K, having their narrow ends bolted to the headI, have their outside and broad ends supported in the lower inside edgeof the gate, which is recessed out just far enough to give them a firmbearing. It is apparent, therefore, that as the water enters at theports, whether fully or especially partially opened, it must be allrestrained in the spaces within the buckets and the diaphragm on thefalse head, exerting its full power on the bucket and no portion dashingup and over to retard the incoming flow and delaying the action of thewheel, as is the case with those in common use, especially when run athalf-gate, or at any rate less than at full gate.

WILLIAM WADDELL.

Witnesses:

RUFUs D. CHASE, EDWARD C. FOWLER.

